In Too Deep

nine

A week had passed since Keith was able to remind Coran of who he was, and the two were slowly making progress. Coran was able to recall the king and queen, as well as the names of the entire staff.

"The head of the staff is named Jasmine; she's in charge of overseeing the other servant's work, and she is the personal servant to the prince." Coran explained.

"So she must spend a lot of time with Lance."

"Lance... right." He frowned in thought, making Keith sigh.

"You still don't remember Lance?"

"No no, I do. I just, never got to know him very well." Letting out a chuckle, he added, "But I remember when he was first learning to swim, how he'd wiggle around like a tadpole."

Keith laughed at the thought. "I'm so gonna bring that up when I see him again."

"When you see him?"

"Well yeah, he promised he'd come find me."

"He's coming here?" Coran shook his head frantically. "No... no he can't! It's not safe for him to come here! Humans... who knows what they'll do to him!"

"Hey..." Keith held Coran's arm, "it'll be okay. I'll make sure nothing happens to him." Turning red, Keith looked away. "He saved my life, after all."

Understanding the look Keith had, Coran relaxed, giving a soft smile. "You two mean a lot to each other?"

The boy gave an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "We had a... moment, before my brother found me."

The two chatted pleasantly as they walked along the pier, which Keith was shocked by, since he'd never been anywhere near the pier until he met Lance.

"I'll have to stop by the aquarium the next time you're working." Coran said during their conversation about Keith's job. "I was never let in before, because... well, I never wore the appropriate attire. Or attire in general."

Keith laughed. "I can't tell you how many times I saw you run by the window with security hot on your tail."

As they reached the end of the pier, Coran gazed out onto the water, heaving a sigh. "I wish I could remember more. I hate not having the answers you seek."

"That's okay," Keith mumbled with a faint shrug. "At least you remember who you are. And you're not hopping around naked in bushes." Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, Keith uttered an "excuse me" before answering the call. "Hey Shiro."

"Hey! Adam and I were thinking about going out to dinner tonight; we're gonna try that new steak place, wanna come?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so... do you think Coran can join us?"

"...Coran? The guy that runs around town in a bush?"

"He doesn't do that anymore. The two of us have actually gotten pretty close this past week, so-"

"Hold on... you've been hanging out with that guy for a week? And you didn't tell me?"

Keith frowned at Shiro's tone. "Yeah... I didn't think it'd matter that much to you."

"Come home now."

"Shiro, I told you, he's gotten himself together-"

"I said now."

The line went dead, which surprised Keith; Shiro never hung up without saying "goodbye" at least three times, and "I love you" five.

"I should go. I think Shiro's having his man period."